XVI. 


Number  2 


The 

Ohio  State  University 
Bulletin 


College  of  Education 


ANNOUNCEMENT  OF  COURSES  IN 
AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION 


August,  1911 


Published  by  the  University  at  Columbus 

Entered  as  second-class  matter  November  17,  1905,  at  the  postoffice  at 
Columbus,  Ohio,  under  Act  of  Congress,  July  16,  1894. 


THE  OHIO  STATE  UNIVERSITY. 


The  Ohio  State  University,  located  in  Columbus,  is 
a part  of  the  public  educational  facilities  maintained  by 
the  State.  It  comprises  seven  colleges : 

The  College  of  Agriculture, 

The  College  of  Arts,  Philosophy  and  Science, 

The  College  of  Education, 

The  College  of  Engineering, 

The  College  of  Law, 

The  College  of  Pharmacy, 

The  College  of  Veterinary  Medicine. 

The  University  publishes  a bulletin  descriptive  of 
each  College.  Copies  may  be  obtained  by  addressing  W.  E. 
Mann,  University  Editor,  Columbus,  Ohio,  and  stating 
the  college  in  which  the  writer  is  interested. 


The  University  opens  for  the  academic  year,  1911- 
1912,  on  Tuesday,  September  12.  Entrance  examinations 
for  those  required  to  take  them  will  be  held  from  Tues- 
day to  Saturday,  September  5 to  9. 


“Agriculture  is  the  Oldest  of  the  Arts,  and  the  Most 
Recent  of  the  Sciences*” 


POPULAR  EDUCATION  IN  AGRICULTURE. 

Agriculture  is  the  most  recent  of  the  sciences;  and 
through  the  application  of  its  principles  to  the  produc- 
tion of  food,  clothing  and  shelter  for  man,  or  to  the  sat- 
isfying of  his  esthetic  desires,  the  most  ancient  art  of 
agriculture  has  had  a new  birth.  From  this  grand  old 
industry,  forty  millions  of  our  people  daily  draw  their 
wealth  and  inspiration  for  higher  and  better  living. 
Without  this  basic  source  of  wealth,  our  people  could 
not  continue  to  support  our  highly  developed  Christian 
civilization  through  another  year.  To  insure  the  per- 
petuity of  an  intelligent  agriculture  for  the  generations 
of  our  people  who  shall  inherit  and  till  the  God-given 
acres  of  the  nation  after  we  have  quit  them,  it  becomes 
an  inevitable  duty  of  the  State  to  educate  her  youth  in 
this  wonderful  science  and  noble  art.  Hence,  its  advent 
into  the  public  schools.  Agriculture,  as  a school  sub- 
ject, has  been  long  in  coming;  but  some  notion  as  to 
how  long  it  will  stay  with  us  may  be  gained  when  we 
consider  how  long  mankind  will  continue  to  draw  its 
sustenance  from  the  soil.  When  one  considers  that  there 
will  be  need  for  a greater  quantity  of  agricultural  prod- 
ucts as  the  population  of  the  earth  increases,  and  that, 
with  the  advance  of  time,  agricultural  products  may  be 
produced  with  ever  increasing  difficulty,  the  future  im- 
portance of  this  subject  may  be  more  clearly  under- 
stood. Agriculture  has  come  to  stay,  and — it  may  be 
more  truthfully  said  now  than  ever — into  the  hands 
of  the  teachers  of  the  state  has  been  placed  its  destiny. 


THE  REAL  PROBLEMS. 


The  necessity  of  having  a generally  accepted  work- 
ing philosophy  of  teaching  agriculture  in  the  public 
schools  is  very  urgent.  The  greatest  problems  of  teach- 
ing agriculture  in  the  public  schools  are  pedagogical,  and 
not  those  of  a technically  scientific  nature.  An  enormous 
mass  of  scientific  agricultural  facts,  principles  and  laws 
has  been  discovered  and  formulated  by  the  agricultural 
colleges  and  experiment  stations  during  the  past  half 
century.  The  problem  of  choosing  and  adapting  a por- 
tion of  this  vast  agricultural  knowledge  and  practice  for 
use  in  public  elementary  and  secondary  schools  has  not 
yet  been  fully  solved.  Agricultural  education — educa- 
tionally speaking — is  still  in  its  infancy.  The  methods 
of  teaching  elementary  and  secondary  agriculture  are 
now  in  their  inception,  and  teachers,  generally,  have 
given  little  attention  to  the  pedagogy  of  industrial 
subjects. 


THE  NEED  AND  THE  OPPORTUNITY. 

Universities,  agricultural  colleges,  colleges  of  educa- 
tion, normal  schools,  state  departments  of  education, 
high  schools,  and  elementary  schools,  not  only  in  Ohio, 
but  throughout  the  nation,  are  looking  for  energetic 
young  men  and  women  who  are  trained  to  give  instruc- 
tion in  agriculture,  and  who  know  how  to  organize  the 
work.  The  choicest  positions  will  be  given  to  those  who 
are  first  ready  to  fill  them  properly.  During  the  next 
few  years  there  will  be  an  urgent  demand  for  teachers 
of  agriculture,  and  excellent  salaries  will  be  in  waiting 
for  those  who  are  prepared.  Will  you  be  ready  for  Dame 
Fortune's  smile  when  she  greets  you? 


NEW  COURSES. 


New  courses  in  agricultural  education  have  been 
organized  in  the  College  of  Education  of  the  Ohio  State 
University,  and  will  be  devoted  to  the  training  of  high 
school  and  elementary  school  teachers  of  agriculture. 
Assistant  Professor  Garland  A.  Bricker  will  have  charge 
of  the  work.  His  qualifications  for  the  new  position  are 
exceptionally  good.  He  was  for  several  years  an  Ohio 
public  schoolman.  He  has  successfully  taught  the  sub- 
ject of  agriculture  for  several  years  in  the  public  schools 
of  this  state  and  in  the  academy  of  the  University  of 
Illinois.  It  was  from  that  institution  that  he  received 
his  master’s  degree  in  education.  During  the  past  year 
he  has  had  the  opportunity  of  visiting  nearly  every 
county  in  Ohio  in  the  interests  of  the  teaching  of  agri- 
culture in  the  public  schools,  and  has,  therefore,  besides 
special  qualifications  in  the  subject  of  agricultural  edu- 
cation, definite  information  that  will  greatly  aid  him  in 
the  training  of  teachers  to  meet  conditions  peculiar  to 
Ohio. 


THE  NELSON  ACT. 

The  “Nelson  Amendment”  (34  Stat.  L 1281),  ap- 
proved March  4,  1907,  and  effective  for  the  fiscal  year 
ending  June  30,  1908,  provides  for  increasing  the  funds 
appropriated  by  the  Federal  Government  to  the  several 
states  and  territories  for  the  support  of  the  colleges  of 
agriculture,  at  the  rate  of  $5,000  a year  for  four  years ; and 
thereafter  $50,000  a year,  whereupon  the  sum  shall  con- 
tinue permanently  at  that  rate.  A proviso  in  this  act 
makes  it  permissible  for  the  “land-grant”  colleges  to  de- 
vote a part  of  this  increased  appropriation  “for  providing 
courses  for  the  special  preparation  of  instructors  for 
teaching  the  elements  of  agriculture  and  the  mechanic 
arts.”  It  is  in  accordance  with  the  clause  pertaining  to 
the  training  of  teachers  of  agriculture  that  the  Univer- 


sity  is  now  maintaining  courses  in  agricultural  educa- 
tion. 

FACILITIES  AT  THE  OHIO  STATE  UNIVERSITY 

The  facilities  at  Ohio  State  University  are  espe- 
cially good  for  this  new  work.  In  the  first  place,  the 
University  library  is  the  official  depository  of  all  the  pub- 
lications of  the  Federal  Government.  On  this  account, 
a complete  set  of  the  publications  of  both  the  National 
Department  of  Agriculture  and  the  Bureau  of  Educa- 
tion will  be  found  here.  The  second  consideration  is 
the  College  of  Agriculture.  Much  of  its  excellent  equip- 
ment, and  the  helpfulness  of  its  specialists  will  be  avail- 
able to  the  students  in  the  courses  in  agricultural  edu- 
cation. The  University  farm,  demonstration  garden  and 
greenhouses  will  be  utilized  in  this  work.  Thirdly,  the 
high  standing,  and  the  professional  spirit  permeating  the 
College  of  Education,  in  which  the  courses  in  agricul- 
tural education  are  offered,  are  designed  to  give  one  a 
valuable  asset  throughout  life. 

COURSES  IN  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION. 

Following  are  the  tentative  courses  that  will  be  of- 
fered during  the  University  year  of  1911-1912: 

1.  The  Elements  of  General  Agriculture.  Six 
credit  hours.  The  year.  This  course  is  designed  to  fur- 
nish a general  fund  of  knowledge  of  the  science  and  art 
of  agriculture  for  the  preparation  of  teachers  to  teach 
either  elementary  or  secondary  agriculture  in  the  public 
schools  of  Ohio.  It  will  also  furnish  an  excellent  basis 
for  the  further  pursuit  of  the  more  specialized  divisions 
of  agriculture  offered  in  the  College  of  Agriculture.  The 
work  of  the  first  semester  will  consist  of  plant  studies, 
animal  studies,  and  studies  in  farm  management;  and 
machine  studies,  soil  studies,  and  studies  of  the  condi- 


tions  of  plant  growth  will  be  considered  during  the  sec- 
ond semester.  The  last  topic  will  include  work  in  the 
greenhouse,  and  the  demonstration  garden  and  investi- 
gations of  plant  diseases  and  insect  pests  together  with 
remedial  measures. 

2.  The  Teaching  of  Agriculture  in  the  High  School. 

Two  credit  hours.  First  semester.  This  course  is  espe- 
cially intended  for  superintendents,  principals  and  teach- 
ers of  secondary  agriculture  in  the  high  schools  of  the 
state.  The  administrative  phases  of  secondary  agricul- 
ture, the  application  of  the  principles  of  pedagogy  to  the 
teaching  of  agriculture  in  the  high  school,  and  the  or- 
ganization of  agricultural  materials  into  a course  of 
study  will  constitute  the  essential  features.  Bricker’s 
“The  Teaching  of  Agriculture  in  the  High  School”  will 
be  the  text-book  used  as  the  basis  of  the  course. 

3.  Repetition  of  2.  Two  credit  hours.  Second 
semester. 

4.  Teaching  Elementary  Agriculture.  Two  credit 
hours.  First  semester.  This  course  is  designed  to  meet 
the  pedagogical  requirements  of  township  superintend- 
ents, rural  teachers,  and  teachers  in  village  elementary 
schools.  The  present  status  of  agricultural  instruction 
in  the  elementary  schools,  the  arrangement  of  the  ma- 
terials of  elementary  agriculture  into  a course  of  study, 
the  methods  of  presentation  of  the  subject  matter,  and 
the  organization  and  use  of  popular  auxiliaries  to  pub- 
lic school  instruction  in  agriculture  will  be  considered. 

5.  Repetition  of  4.  Two  credit  hours.  Second 
semester. 

6.  Rural  Life  and  Institutions.  Two  credit  hours. 
Second  semester.  This  course  will  constitute  an  inquiry 
into  the  status  of  social  life  in  rural  communities,  and 
the  various  institutions  through  which  this  life  finds  ex- 
pression. Agriculture  will  be  considered  as  a mode  of 
life  rather  than  as  a science  and  art. 


AN  ANNOUNCEMENT. 


A willingness  is  expressed  by  Professor  Bricker  to 
assist  teachers  in  their  preparation  for  teaching  agricul- 
ture, by  means  of  professional  lectures  before  high 
schools,  township  and  village  teachers’  meetings,  teach- 
ers’ associations  and  county  teachers’  institutes.  He  will 
also  be  glad  to  receive  correspondence  relative  to  his 
field  of  professional  work. 


The  Ohio  State  University  Bulletin  is  issued  at  least 
fifteen  times  during  the  Academic  year;  monthly  in  Oc- 
tober, November,  and  June,  and  bi-weekly  in  Decem- 
ber, January,  February,  March,  April,  and  May. 


